PROJECT ON

EVOLUTION OF POLICING IN INDIA

( SUBJECT – POLICE ADMINISTRATION)

SUPERVISOR – DR. GEETA JOSHI SUBMITTED BY –SOUMIL GOYAL

DR. PARAMJIT KAUR CLASS - LL.M (2nd SEM)
ROLL NO - 1234/18
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher Dr. Geeta Joshi and
Dr. Paramjit who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic
which also helped me in doing a lot of Research and I came to know about so many new
things I am really thankful to them.
Secondly Iwould also like to thank my parents and friends who helped me a lot in
finalizing this project within the limited time frame.
 CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………….PAGE 1

2. POLICING IN ANCIENT INDIA………………………………..PAGE 2

3. POLICING IN MEDIEVAL INDIA……………………………..PAGE 5

4. POLICING IN MODERN INDIA……………………………….PAGE 10

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………..PAGE 19
 THE EVOLUTION OF POLICE
ADMINISTRATION
IN INDIA

INTRODUCTION

The problems of Indian Police are too subtle to comprehend by a

layman. A look into die various State Police Commissions demonstrate
that there is no dearth of creative ideas and even empirical research about
police reform. It is a fact that the Indian Police remains thoroughly a
stagnant organization, governed by die century old Police Act of 1861 and
the statutes of post-mutiny era. The reasons are not far to seek and the
most of the reasons for not allowing the obvious to happen lie in the
professional, political, and social-cultural arenas of public life in India.
The functional constraints of the police profession warrant a cautious and
slow moving approach, which when spelled out in operational terms, fixes
a very low priority for police reforms. The police, being the buffer or a
shock-absorber of social changes, permit the political rulers of the
democratic system to consolidate and legitimize their power positions and
naturally, they cannot afford to take the risk in the field of policing at their
own peril.

Ancient India
The study of Vedas shows that amusements degenerated into vices
and crimes multiplied. People were much addicted to gambling. Cattle
lifting and other kinds of thieving were the chief forms of crime. The
robbers lurked about the highways and broke into houses. When caught,
they were severely punished. Their arms were tied behind, their mouth
was bandaged and they were severely beaten and crushed to death. There
is reference to officials named
Jivagribhs in the Rig Ved and Ugras in the Upanishads who appear
to have been police officers.1
1
Basu.P.K. Use of Discretion in Police, opt. pp27-43.
 During the Epic period. (1400 to 800 B.C.) there is reference in the
Ramayana about the employment of the police for keeping peace and
regulating traffic. Hanuman saw in the streets of Lanka, in addition to the
soldiers carrying various destructive weapons and arms, Danda-
yudhadharas^orjnerf carrying truncheons or stricks. Bharata when
issuing orders for the reception of Rama, who was returning from exile,
told Satrughna to keep the roads clear of the crowd. Evidently this is a
reference to policemen on traffic duty. Again Angada speaks of
imprisonment and methods of torture and the existence of the police.
There is reference to the use of Charakas (spies) by King Dasaratha,
Rama, Vali and Ravana. In Chapter 59 of the “Santiparva in the
Mahabharata it is mentioned that the state of nature was a state of perfect
bliss and that people became unrighteous with the passage of time.”
 During the Epic period, as mentioned in the Sabhaparva of the
Mahabharata, “fully realised the manifold obligations cast upon them,
made laws, instituted courts, organised police and intelligence services
and ensured internal order.” In Chapters 33 and 34 of the Udyogaparva
it is mentioned that “the cows see by smell, priests by knowledge, kings
by spies and other men through eyes.”2

The Arthashastra covers all spheres of administration of the State

and it gives the impression of ruthless severity in the enforcement of
fiscal regulations for the benefit of the treasury and of stem repression of
crime. Various kinds of punishments are mentioned. If person, who being
near, did not run to help another in danger he was liable to be punished.
Public servants, who were guilty of misconduct in the discharge of their
duties were liable punishment.

During the Mauryas an efficient police system had grown. Dr. R.

K. Mookerji in his book “Chandragupta Maurya and his Times” refers to
Kautilya's Arthashastra in which 18 great officers had been mentioned.
These officers are (1) Mantrin, (2) Purohita, (3) Senapati,
(4) Yuvaraja, (5) Dauvarika, (6) Antarvansika, (7) Prasasta, (8) Sama-
harta, (9) Sannidhata, (10) Pradeshta, (11) Nayaka, (12)
Pauravyavaharika, (13) Karmantika, (14) Mantri Parishat-Adhyaksha,
(15) Dandapala, (16) Durgapala, (17) Antapala, (18) Atavika. Dauvarika
was responsible for the maintenance of law and order of the outer life of
the palace, and Antarvansika was in charge of the peace and security in its
inner life. The Dandapala, the Durgapala and the Antapala were

2
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 military officers but were discharging a good deal of police functions, they
being in charge of the peace and order of the country at large. The
Dandapala in later times became out and out a Police Officer; so also was
the case of Durgapala, who in later times became known as Kotapala and
subsequently as Katuala (or Kotwal). Kautilya describes the
administration of criminal law as Kantaka Sadhana, the clearing of thorns,
which means the eradication of the dangerous elements by criminal laws
and police regulations. While arresting a person some direct evMence was
considered essential and arrest on mere suspicion was not always allowed.
The police, system under Asoka consisted of Mahamatras, who were the
highest executive officer in the province responsible for the maintenance
of peace and order. Under them the pradeskies were employed for the
work of collection of revenue, maintenance of peace and order and
administration of justice. The Rajukas came next and were in charge of the
welfare and happiness of Janapada (an administrative division of the
Province) with absolute powers in matters of reward and punishment. The
Rajukas were under the vigilance of the Pulisas. The Ayuktas were a sort
pf village police and were probably working under the Rajukas and were
to some extent responsible to the Pradesikas. The Prativedakas were a
special class of officers empowered to report the affairs of the people to
the Emperor at any place and time. Besides all this the Emperor widely
employed a special class of high officers named Dhammamahamatras for
censorship of public moral and spiritual uplifhnent of the people.3

Mediaeval India
Not much is known about the police administration in the
mediaeval Hindu Kingdoms’ which arose between the death of Harsha in
A.D. 647 and the Muhammadan Kingdoms of Bengal, Malwa, Gujarat
Mid Kashmir or the five Sultanates of the Deccan prior to the
establishment of the Mughal empire in India. The ancient system of

3
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 village police appears to have persisted. If the village police failed to
recover stolen property, they were obliged to make good the value of such
property so far as their means permitted, and the remainder was levied on
the whole village4.
Sher Shah, the famous Indo-Afghan ruler effectively organised
different branches of the administrative system including the police. He
continued die traditional principles of local responsibility and held the
village headmen responsible for the safety of the area within their
villages. In the Pargana, the Shiqudar and Amin shared between them the
responsibility of policing and a group of Parganas formed a Sarkar under
a Foujdar, who was the principal police officer and also the commander
of the local army. The head of the city police in urban areas was known as
the Kotwal. He not only continued to supervice certain municipal duties
and to enforce public morals but he was also the head of the criminal
Court of a Sarkar. During the Pre-Mughal Age the Sultanates had been
anxious to maintain security in their dominions. The first Khilji monarch
was face to face with rebellion at home and the menace of Mongol
invasion. His first measure to meet that danger" was the moral
regeneration of the people. The routine duties of the police

4
Malimath,S.P. Police Public Relations. The Police Journal. Delhi. Oct.-Decemberl976. pp 64-67.
 department were performed by the Kotwal, who corresponded roughly to
the SahibiShurtah of the Caliphs. The Kotwal's force patrolled the city at
night and guarded the thorough fares. He acted in co-operation with the
inhabitants. He appointed a leading man as warden in every quarter who
was responsible for seeing that no criminals were harboured by the people.
The Kotwal maintained a register of the inhabitants of every quarter, kept
himself informed of their activities and means of livelihood and took
cognizance of every new arrival and departure. His jurisdiction, also
extended to rural areas. The Kotwal also acted as a Committing
Magistrate. He was not a military officer and his force was essentially
civil in character. The criminal code was severe and punishments were
deterrent.5

The Mughals continued the indigenous system of village policing.

The Mughal province was a replica of the Central Government, and the
administration centered in the head quarters. Outside die headquarters
people were left to their own resources as long as they paid the revenue
and kept the peace.
The Governor of a province was called the Subhedar and under
him were the Foujdars, who were in charge of sub-divisions. Though the
Foujdar was mainly a revenue official he had also the responsibility of
keeping the peace and dealing with robbers and other anti-social
elements. To help him in the police duties he had a number of Thanadars
who were in charge of armed forces. The activities of the Foujdars and
the Thanadars were confined to using military force for quelling
rebellions and disturbances by bands of robbers. They did not investigate
cases.
6

5
Id
6
id
 In cities and large towns the chief of the city police was called
Kotwal. His duties were to maintain peace; arrange for patrolling of the
streets at night, and keep a watch for pick-pockets through his
subordinates at public gatherings. In addition to what might be called
regular police duties, he was also required to look after people in prison,
hear the charges against them and punish those found guilty. The Kotvals
were assisted by Naibs or deputies. Kotwal's orders were appealable to
the district Kazi. The above system though well suited to the needs of a
simple agrarian community could not sustain the stains of political
disorder that followed in the wake of the disintegration of the Mughal
Empire. With the disintegration of the imperial authority of the Mughals,
there was a complete breakdown of the police system and it was to this
legacy that the East, India Company succeeded as the Diwan in 1765. 7

Police under the East India Company In 1765 there existed at

Murshidabad (capital of the Nawab) the courts of the Nawab Nazim, the
Diwan, the deputy Nazim (the supreme criminal Court), the deputy
Diwan (the supreme civil Court), the Foujdar, the Kazi and the Muktasib
who dealt with excise. In 1769 supervisors were appointed to the
districts, who were replaced by collectors in 1772, and two sets of courts
Diwani or civil and Foujdari or criminal were established for each of the
14 districts of Bengal. In 1774, while congratulating the administration
on the establishment of these courts, Warren Hastings observed that the
establishment of these courts was giving encouragement to criminals,
since the standard of evidence demanded

7
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 I '

made punishment difficult. An attempt was made in 1775 to improve the

law and order situation by establishing Foujdari Thanas, at the chief town
of very large district, and a number of Chowkies at interior stations. The
zamindars were subordinated to the Foujdars and were expected to assist
them fully in preserving peace and security. The inherent Weakness of the
prevailing dyarchical form of government, however, enabled the
zamindars to build up their, own strength and evade the authority of the
Foujdar by ingratiating themselves with the company servants. Warren
Hastings, the first Governor-General sought to remedy the defects by
abolishing in 1781 the Foujdari system and vesting the judges of the Civil
Courts with police functions. They were given powers to apprehend
persons charged with a crime and a sizeable police establishment was
placed directly under them for this purpose. They did not, however,' have
the power to try such persons, as criminal administration still remained
the responsibility of the Naib-Nazim and his officers. In rural areas,
certain zamindars continued to discharge police functions concurrently
with the judges of the Civil Courts.

.
MODERN INDIA
The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 led the British administrators to serious rethinking
for introduction of an effective instrument of civil administration for
restoration of improved condition of administrative discipline in India. In 1860
the Government of India seriously took the question of police reforms in the
whole of British India and appointed a Commission to inquire into the
working of the police and to recommend proposals for increasing the
efficiency and reducing the expenditure of police administration.

On these recommendations of the Commission, the Police Act, 1861

was enacted. The Police Act came into force on the day the Indian Penal
Code Procedure also became operational. The code of criminal procedure
and the Indian Evidence Act were enacted in 1898 Mid 1872
respectively.8

Police Under the British Rule- The Government was transferred to

the British Crown in November 1885. The introduction of efficient
administration had to wait until die year 1861, when the Police Act was
enacted.

In 1866 the Railway Police was constituted, and the responsibility for
prevention, detection and prosecution and maintenance of the order on
railway platforms were entrusted to the Railway Police, on the
recommendation of the Railway Committee.

The system of police administration introduced by the Police Act,

1861 failed for these among other reasons;
a) the importance of police work had been under-estimated,

8
Veerabhadriah H. “ An Insight into Police Administration an Article in Studies in State Administration, ED.
Halappa G.S. Kamatak University 1963. PG , 222
b) the responsible duties had ordinarily been entrusted to untrained and ill-
educated officers, recruited in the lowest ranks form the lower starta of the
society;

c) Supervision had been defective, owing to the failure to appoint even the
staff contemplated by the law and to increase that staff with the growing
necessities of the administration;

d) the superiors officers of the department had been allowed from various
causes to get out of the touch even with the people and out of touch even with
their own responsibilities, had been weakened by a degree of interference
never contemplated by the authors of the system.9

In 1902, Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India, appointed the Indian Police
Commission on the recommendation of Sir John Woodbum.

The recommendations related to method of recruitment, syllabus for training,

discipline, pay, emoluments and pensions, conditions of service, prevention
and investigation of crime, prosecution of cases etc.

In 1912 the Royal Commission known as "Islington Commission” on the

public services in India was appointed and it submitted a report in August
1915. It recommended for the Police Department various new changes. As
regards recruitment, the Commission recommended that not less than 10% of
the Superintendents should be filled by promotion from the Provincial Service
and that this should be gradually raised to 20%. Once an officer of the
Provincial, Police Service is promoted permanently to Indian Police Service he
should be considered, as full member of the latter for all further promotions.
They recommended to stop recruitment in England for the appointment of
Assistant Superintendent and slated that Europeans of mixed descent and

9
id
Indians of unmixed Asiatic descent having been educated in the United
Kingdom for 5 years should appear for open competitive examination. The
Inspectors-General should not be recruited from the Indian Civil Service by
prejudicing the claims of qualified police officers. As regards the Provincial
Police, the Commission recommended that officers from other departments
should not be recruited to hold police posts and there should be a committee to
advise regarding direct recruitment in each Province. Each of the direct recruits
is to serve for two yeans on an average before confirmation and the grade of
probationers is to be created. Due to the outbreak of World War I the report of
the "Islington Commission” was shelved.

The Delhi Special Police Establishment Act was enacted in 946 constituting a
special police force in Delhi, under the control of the Central Government, for
investigating offences of bribery and corruption.

After Independence
In 1951 the All India Services Act (LXI of 1951) was enacted constituting an
All India Service known as the Indian Administrative Service and die Indian
Police Service. Rules were framed regulating the recruitment, uniform and
conditions of service, pay etc. of the members of the Indian Police Service.
The State Police Set Up in India.
The police organization at the State level performs distinctively
staff-cum-line functions. The state functions are quite complex and have
to discharge vis-a-vis.
a) The Union government and auxiliary agencies.
b) The Home- Department of the State government, and
c) The Line officials of the district police below.
Most of these line and staff functions are performed simultaneously.
Some of the staff agencies operate from the Head-Quarters at the state
level and may or may not have field units. The line functions of the state
level police administration include implementation of policies pertaining
to law and order and detection and investigations or crimes with their help
of the districts units. The Home Minister, the Home Commissioner and
their Home Department constitute the civilian wing has its unarmed and
armed wings.

The professional wing of the state wing of the state police works
under the overall command and the supervision if the I.G.P. of the state.
He has a couple of special, assistant and additional Inspectors General of
Police, to aid and advice him at the police head-quarters. They may also
administer some specialized police functions, like anti-corruption,
vigilance, civil defense and traffic etc. at the state level. The I.G.P. is die
Chief of the State police and the Police Act assigns specific
responsibilities to him in the areas of police policy formulation and line
operations involved in the execution of the policy. He is the chief
personnel officer of his Department and enjoys wide powers and
discretions with regard to financial management and disciplinary matters
in his organization. He is an administrative leader of his team; he
functions through a number of Deputy Inspectors General of Police
working on territorial or functional bases. The D. I. G. incharge of a police
range supervises the work of 4 to 6 administrative districts, which
constitute the intermediary level in the administrative hierarchy, just
below the State and about the district, the functional D. I. Gs, at the state
level take care of auxiliary units, such as C. I. D. the intelligence
department, the Railway Police Training Institutions, the police head
quarters and the armed battalions at the State level. “There is no uniform
pattern about the number and work of the D. I. Gs in various States of the
Union.”
The Organizational Deficiencies

Organizationally, the three tier structure of State, district and

police stations seems quite sound and feasible in consonance with the
police philosophy and working conditions obtained in the countryside.
But, the physical conditions, actually available in teams of buildings,
furniture, telephone, conveyance, office records, malkhanas, police
lock-ups, living quartern at the out post and the police stations are
absolutely far from satisfactory. The mounting needs of policing have
resulted in the phenomenal expansion and upgrading of police stations,
which the State police budgets cannot afford to cope up with,”

The expectations of the common man from his police station have
gone very high and the newly recruited police officers also find it
demeaning to live and work under sub-human conditions.

The sudden decline of Chowkidari system in rural India and the

failure of village voluntary organisations after the launching, of
Panchayati Raj in various States of the Union in the sixties, have caused
a void. The problem is not that of transition, but that of incongruence in
the system, which expects the emergence of a citizen-police in a
traditional milieu of rural India. The Chowkidari system was positively
inconsistent with the system of Panchayati Raj, but its scrapping along
with the decline of Panchayati Raj institutions in the
States have left the villagers without any effective system of policing,
right at their gates,”(14)

The District Police.

The District tier of State police organization controls the network of
the police stations spread all over the country. The Superintendent of
Police, who presides over this organization as the key functionary through
the state government operates, and the police stations below look for
command, guidance and action. Hierarchically speaking, the district
police in most of the states stands organized into sub-divisions and police
circles. A number of staff agencies, such as Crime Bureau, Special
Squads, Prosecuting Branch, Traffic Police and the Reserve Police Line.
The organizational profile of the District can be presented as Chart No. II

The district police organization, which on an average covers about

3,600 square miles and a population of over a million and a quarto:
people has a large jail and store houses for arms and ammunitions and
clothing equipment. Constables are recruited and partly trained here.
Armed police and sometimes mounted police also have their reserve lines
or barracks here. The CI.D. organisation operates from its head quarters.
Working under the overall supervision of the D.M., the S.P. looks after the
problems of law and order and that of administration of crime and vice.
To perform these twin functions, the S.P. has to collect intelligence,
cultivate good police-public relations and keep his junior personnel in
good trim. As a central person in the district administration, the S.P. has to
deal with his juniors, seniors, non-
colleagues, people, political parties and an endless variety of political and
quasi-political pressure groups. His office, which has a large confidential
cell, handles a lot of conventional material of sensitive nature. All this
makes the position of the S.P. pivotal in the district administration.

The police Sub-divisions in a district are administered by

Additional Deputy Superintendents of Police. These functionaries have
two major roles to play viz., (I) they function as Police Chiefs of their sub-
divisions, and (2) also act as staff Aids to the S.P. at the head quarters. In
the former role, their functions in their respective sub divisions are almost
similar to that of the S.P. in his district. In the latter capacity they perform
staff functions of delegational nature and aid and advise the S. P. in their
respective areas of professional specialisationl,”(l 5)

The Police Circles in a sub-division have a special historical

significance in India. The promotee Sub-Inspectors, who function as
Circle Inspectors, keep the Dy. S. P. and S.P. informed about the conduct
of the Sub-Inspectors and other occurrances and movements having a
direct bearing on police functions of the district. The office has been,
criticised for its irrelevance, duplication of work and proverbial
corruption obtained in the inspectorates. Yet it has a justification in its
expertise and on the-spot-supervision of field agencies by experienced
police officers of the State.

The Crime Bureau, the Special Investigating Agency and the

District Special Branch are the major staff units in the district police
office. The Bureau collects, collates and disseminates all information
regarding organised crime and criminal gangs in the district Different
states have given different names to this Bureau, such as Crime Record
Section, M.O.B. and Crime Information Centre. The district level
information is processed and finally passed on to the Central Crime
Information Bureau of the State on asking as well as through periodical
reports. The Special Investigating Agency investigates cases of
embezzlement, fraud, forgery and misappropriation. It also collects
criminal intelligence in general and keeps the S. P. informed about the
activities of confirmed criminals. The Special Branch which represents an
extension of the State Special Branch collects political intelligence and
attends to other secret works connected with foreigners, VXP’s and
national security. It submits periodical reports on political and communal
movements, Labour and student activities, agitations by organised groups
and other allied matters to the S.P. of the district.

In big districts, separate sections of Traffic Police exist Some

districts maintain special enforcement squads to enforce anti-smuggling
laws and anti-black marketing and anti-hoarding orders. For the
prosecution of police cases, there are Assistant Police Public Prosecutors
for die magisterial courts, but Public Prosecutors have been appointed
from the bar to conduct cases in the Session Courts. The recent
amendment in Cr. P: C. has not materially changed the position with
regard to Public Prosecutors, but the Assistant Public Prosecutors can no
longer be police officers in the district. The District Reserve Lines, which
exist to meet contingencies, such as leave, sickness and vacancies caused
by resignations, suspensions and dismissals have a special role to play in
district police establishments. They not only keep the line in
good shape, but provide useful training and much needed change from the
drudgery of the field.”(16)
 References

1) Malaviya.P.D. Why do not Police Change - Police on Cross Road

Seminar Papers-1987 S.A.V. Police Academy Hyderabad
2) Basu.P.K. Use of Discretion in Police, opt. pp27-43.
3) Presidents Commission. (Law Enforcement and Administration of
Justice) U.S. GovtPrinting Press 1996. p 7-16.
4) Malimath,S.P. Police Public Relations. The Police Journal. Delhi.
Oct.-Decemberl976. pp 64-67.
5) Presidents Commission opt. pp1156-57.
6) Ibid.
7) Misra;S.C. State Police in India. Op. cit.p79.
8) Mullik Committee Report, Government Report. 1954. New Delhi
1954.
9) Refer ‘ State Armed Police Forces ( Extension of laws) Act, 1962
(Act No 63 of 1952)
10) Rao S. Venu Gopai, Police Under die East India Company, Ajanta
New Delhi, 1961. pp29-52.
11) Report of the West Bengal Commission. Got of India Chapter V
1952. pp68-72.
12) Veerabhadriah H. “ An Insight into Police Administration an Article in
Studies in State Administration, ED. Halappa G.S. Kamatak University
1963.
13) Misra S.C. “State Police Organization in India, OP.Cit.PP. 113-
14.

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